[ale] odd email issue

[Geoffrey Myers]

Lightner, Jeff wrote:
> This is what I said about environment.  You believe you're using
> Sendmail - but what if root is seeing a Postfix installation and trying
> to use that?   There are many things that can be configured in email
> setups.   For example here I have some servers using "smarttable" so
> that emails sent from one domain relay out a host we have Sendmail
> running on but all other email relays out our Exchange host.

The return error message references sendmail.  Further, postfix is not 
installed.

> However, as I suggested before it may be something more simple like a
> missing or different variable.   Sometimes you're not having the problem
> you think you're having - you're instead having an earlier problem that
> is causing the one you're troubleshooting.   Going back to basics often
> helps and the first thing I'd do in your situation is do the environment
> comparison.   You could also look through /etc/mail files to see what
> special setup root has as opposed to the other user (or vice-versa).
> Maybe you have an alias setup that you don't realize?
> 
> Also even if the Sendmail daemon is LISTENing only on localhost that is
> different than when you send an email from within the host.  When you
> send an email it kicks off another Sendmail process to do the send and
> that one may not be restricted to localhost as you think.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of
> Geoffrey Myers
> Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2011 12:25 PM
> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
> Subject: Re: [ale] odd email issue
> 
> Lightner, Jeff wrote:
>> Since you have the issue running it as root from CLI then it makes
> sense
>> it has same issue from root cron.   Try running it in your user cron
>> instead.  (i.e. as your normal user run "crontab -e" and add the job
>> there.)
>>
>> If that works then it may still have to do with environment
> differences
>> between root and your normal user.   If you're becoming root by doing
>> "su -" try doing "su" without the dash instead - that way your root
>> session inherits the original user's environment instead of invoking
>> root's environment.  If the command then works from CLI as root then
> you
>> know it is an environmental difference.
> 
> How is it possible that root could be using a different outgoing mail 
> server?  Sendmail is configured for localhost only.  This is the part 
> that is confusing to me.
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of
>> Geoffrey Myers
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2011 9:51 AM
>> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
>> Subject: Re: [ale] odd email issue
>>
>> Lightner, Jeff wrote:
>>> Is the cron job you're running the user's cron or root's cron?
>> root cron.
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of
>>> Geoffrey Myers
>>> Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2011 9:20 AM
>>> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
>>> Subject: Re: [ale] odd email issue
>>>
>>> Geoffrey Myers wrote:
>>>> David Tomaschik wrote:
>>>>> On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 8:52 AM, Geoffrey Myers
>>>>> <lists at serioustechnology.com> wrote:
>>>>>> Robert Coggins wrote:
>>>>>>> On 6/15/2011 8:11 AM, Geoffrey Myers wrote:
>>>>>>>> So, I've got sendmail configured so it uses localhost for
> sending
>>> email.
>>>>>>>>    As a normal user I can send email like this:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> date|mail email at domain
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Yet, I've recently configured /etc/aliases to send root email to
>>> my
>>>>>>>> personal email address:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> root:           email at domain
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> But I get delayed email messages from 1and1, my domain host for
>>> these
>>>>>>>> emails because my machine name (centsovm.serioustechnology.com)
>> is
>>> not
>>>>>>>> valid.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> So, how is this possible?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Maybe it has something to do with not being able to contact that
>>>>>>> server.  I cannot resolve that address.
>>>>>> The issue is, when I send it from the command line, it is
>> apparently
>>>>>> using my localhost.  When the cron job runs and redirects email
> via
>>>>>> /etc/aliases, it appears to be using the mail server for my
> hosting
>>> company.
>>>>>> Why the inconsistency?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Really, how is this even possible?
>>>>> Do you have sendmail configured to use a relayhost?  Would you mind
>>>>> putting headers from the two different emails on a pastebin
>> somewhere
>>>>> for comparison?
>>>> No relayhost.  I'll see if I can get some useful header info.  What 
>>>> baffles me is it appears that this one machine uses localhost from
>> the
>>>> command line and my hosting company mail server for cron output.
>>>>
>>>> How is that even possible?
>>> Here's more to this oddity.  I run this on the command line as my
>> normal
>>> user:
>>>
>>> date|mail user at domain
>>>
>>> where I'm sending email to my email address.  Comes through fine.
>>>
>>> If I do the same thing as root, the email does not come through.
>>>
>>> ????
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
> 
> 


-- 
Until later, Geoffrey

"I predict future happiness for America if they can prevent
the government from wasting the labors of the people under
the pretense of taking care of them."
- Thomas Jefferson